ALL-AMERICANS MOUNTAINEER TRACK & FIELD
Clara Grandt 2009
Clara Grandt
COACHING STAFF MOUNTAINEER PROFILES
Clara Grandt saved the best for last as she posted the finest season of her career and earned her first All-America honor in cross country. The West Union, W.Va., native led the team to a sixth-place finish at the 2009 NCAA Championship, the first Mountaineer to cross the line in 13th place overall. Grandt also earned allregion and all-BIG EAST honors and was named BIG EAST Cross Country Athlete of the Week on Sept. 24, for her efforts in the Midwest Open. There she crossed the line in 17:00.1, 19 seconds before Louisville’s Tarah McKay (17:19.4), for the fastest course time in over 20 years. In the track season, Grandt earned her second honor of the year by virtue of finishing as one of the top U.S. citizens in the 5,000-meter race at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships. She then capped off her final season as a Mountaineer with a fourth-place showing in the 10,000-meter race at the outdoor championships, giving her four total All-America honors. Grandt became WVU’s 24th track and field All-American as she earned the honors with a fourth-place showing in the 10,000-meter finals at the NCAA Championship in 2009. Grandt started off the race behind the lead pack before finding her stride around the 6,000-meter mark. The junior closed the gap, and finished with a time of 33:45.16.
Kaylyn Christopher 2010
2010-11 SEASON
Kaylyn Christopher, a native of Kingwood, W.Va., received her first and second All-America honors in 2010, by virtue of finishing as one of the top U.S. citizens in the mile, and as a member of the distance medley relay team at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Christopher captured her first honor with a 12th-place finish in the mile with a time of 4:46, to finish as one of the top eight Americans in the race. Later in the day, she returned to aid the DMR team (Christopher, Keri Bland, Jessica O’Connell and April Rotilio) to an eighth-place showing (11:16.39). Owns a personal-best time of 4:40.78 in the mile.
Chelsea Carrier 2009-10 REVIEW RECORD BOOK WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
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Jessica O’Connell 2010 Another name to be added to the list of great WVU distance runners, Jessica O’Connell earned her first All-America honors as a member of the distance medley relay team (O’Connell, Kaylyn Christopher, Keri Bland and April Rotilio) that finished in eighth place (11:16.39) at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. The Calgary, Alberta, native also was a vital asset in the NCAA Outdoor Regionals in 1,500-meter race, but was tripped on the last leg. O’Connell still managed to finish in 10th place in the semifinals (4:30.05). She is also a NCAA qualifier in the 3,000-meter race after running a life-time best of 9:16.22 at the NY Fast Times Invitational and went on to win the North American Championships in the 5,000-meter that summer.
Chelsea Carrier 2010 Chelsea Carrier has left her name in the WVU record books as one of the greatest track athletes in school history. In 2010, Carrier, a Buckhannon, W.Va., native earned her first and second All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. Her first honor came after a fourthplace showing in the pentathlon. Carrier finished with one of her best performances with 4,133 total points. Later in the day, Carrier earned her second honor with a sixth-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles (8.29). Earlier in the season, Carrier was named Mid-Atlantic Field Athlete of the Year after earning two BIG EAST Champion honors and breaking the school record in the pentathlon at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge on Feb. 5. Carrier won the event with 4,136 points to break the school record previously set by All-American Pat Itanyi in 1997 (4,111).